Actor Liam Neeson, who stars in the action thriller film franchise Taken, has revealed that initially he thought that he would never be offered the role.

Actor Liam Neeson, who stars in the action thriller film franchise Taken, has revealed that initially he thought that he would never be offered the role.

“What drew me to the original film, Taken, I read the script and I thought, I am never going to be offered this. Hollywood wouldn’t think of me. Luc Besson (writer) and EuropaCorp (production company) probably wouldn’t think of me for this guy that can fight, run, and kind of do all that stuff which I do like doing,” Neeson said in a statement.

“But I met Luc at the Shanghai Film Festival 10 years ago. We exchanged words, and push came to shove, I got offered it which I was thrilled!” he added.

Neeson, who shared screen space with actor Forest Whitaker in Taken 3, says he has “always been” a fan of his for “many years”.

Watch the Taken 2 trailer here

“You know, there are no specific things. You’re in the company of a beautiful, wonderful actor; you just try to savour it in some way. That’s lovely when you’re with a special actor/actress, you know there’s a little chemistry fermenting there, you know,” he said.

Liam Neeson reprised his role as Brian Mills in two sequels to Taken and has said he will never do another one.